


Call Me Devil

by Inu_Sama



Series: HP FICS [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Draco Malfoy, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Luna Lovegood, BAMF Neville Longbottom, Bad Albus Dumbledore, Dark Harry, Dark Neville Longbottom, Dumbledore Bashing, Hermione Granger Bashing, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Master of Death Harry Potter, Ron Weasley Bashing, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 23:46:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14779559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inu_Sama/pseuds/Inu_Sama
Summary: "So, where would you like to go?" The hat asked, making Harry take a sharp breath in surprise as he was brought out of his thoughts."You mean I actually get to choose - just like that? You’re not going to argue?" He asked, bewildered. It was a little odd for it not to put in a token protest - or at least some advice. The hat chuckled, sifting through more memories before coming to a conclusion."Well, from your mind I can already tell where you belong. But that doesn’t mean that is where you SHOULD go." The hat replied and was about to announce Ravenclaw when it suddenly seized on Harry’s head before falling off. It writhed and whimpered like it was being held under the Cruciatus Curse.“SLYTHERIN! SLYTHERIN!” It screeched before going silent.Fuck.





	Call Me Devil

“Death.” The shadow appeared before Harry, who had been running his thin little hands through the sand in the play pit.

“Yes, master?” The shade asked, tone flat and emotionless as always. Summer green eyes pierced the black hood where Harry imagined their eyes to be.

“I’m _bored_.” The cloaked figure seemed to sigh, but had nothing to offer the young wizard in lieu of a solution. They knew the rules just as Harry did. The child’s eye twitched at the lack of response from his servant, once again reminded why he had to live his life over and over. He was Master Of Death, which turned out to be the biggest pain in the arse Harry had ever encountered.

The story books never told you that it would be worse than just dying and moving on. _No_ , he had to be reborn and start over again. Every. Damn. Time. Harry huffed. This was only his second time 'round but he already didn’t care anymore. He just wanted out, he was sick of this.

Using his trusty red spade, Harry stabbed the sand castle his fat cousin had been building. The mini whale began screaming as the basic structure crumbled under Harry’s irritation.

Harry smirked and continued to demolish it until there was nothing left, sand flying everywhere. It wasn’t long before Aunt Petunia came rushing out of the kitchen to rescue her son, simultaneously telling Harry off and consoling Dudley.

“You Freak! what have you done-oh no, Dudders, it’s fine shh-Vernon will deal with you-My poor poor boy!” Without noticing the very epitome of Death standing next to her, Petunia picked her son up and carried him inside, telling him that everything was going to be okay. Harry snorted from his place in the sand, nothing was ever ‘okay’.

Harry had learned that a long time ago, you could never depend on fate making sure everything was going to turn out fine. She was a bitch like that.

She only set things up to mess with people, not help them. Harry turned when he heard the heavy breathing of his uncle, dropping his spade and assuming the position. It didn’t seem to amuse the older male as Harry was picked up by the scruff of his neck and tossed into his cupboard.

Threats and accusations that had become commonplace by now were thrown his way before he was left alone in the dark. Again. Death emerged from the shadows of one corner, sitting at an odd angle in the cramped space.

Normally Harry would laugh at this, but he was tired. He sighed and fell back onto his cot.

“Just go away.” Harry made a shooing motion and the spectre disappeared, releasing something like an irritated huff. Harry knew he shouldn’t just call on Death like that, they were a busy spirit, but he was out of options to preserve his sanity.

He thought that maybe Death could find him a loophole in the contract or _something_. The longer he stayed with the Dursleys the more brain cells he could feel dying out, and he was only 6 years in. He needed a break, a vacation.

Which was why, when the day before his eleventh birthday rolled around, Harry was ecstatic. He stuffed the letter down his trousers - not the most sanitary of places but he couldn’t risk his cupboard door creaking if he opened it, so, down it went.

It was an uncomfortable sensation, having rough parchment slide and crinkle against his skin as he walked back to the breakfast table to deliver his bounty to Vernon.

Said man snatched the letters from his small hands and wiped them off on the tablecloth like Harry had contaminated them or something.

Which, to be honest, he had been tempted to put a curse on them to make Vernon’s hair fall out - but they would know it was him and he didn’t feel like starting his life over again so soon.

“What’s this-oh Marge is ill, pity, I was looking forward to her party this weekend.” Harry’s uncle commented airily, making it perfectly clear he wanted nothing more than to sit on his arse and watch tv all weekend eating ice cream. Harry missed ice cream - and chocolate now that he thought about it. Oh how he wanted--

He was slapped upside the head by Petunia when the bacon started burning.

“Boy! You know the rules, burn it and you don’t get any!” She shrilled, walking past to the fridge to grab the juice. They both knew that was a lie, Harry wouldn’t be getting any regardless of if it were burned or not.

He focussed back onto the task at hand anyway as an idea came to him. He knew he shouldn’t, but he really _really_ wanted to, consequences be damned.

Harry waited until she had passed again and was back at the table with her back turned before wiggling his fingers over the bacon with a mischievous smirk.

It was either this of killing her for her disrespect. He was thrice maybe four times Petunia’s age and a billion times stronger and yet he was reduced to nothing more than a House Elf.

It was not just humiliating, but downright infuriating. This was his least favourite part about being MOD, being stuck in a child’s body.

But there were certain pretenses he wanted to keep if he was going to Hogwarts, he didn’t want Dumbledore to see anything he didn’t want him to when he checked the muggles over while Harry was out with Hagrid doing his shopping.

So unfortunately he couldn’t exact any sort of punishment, no matter how justified it was. This also meant he couldn’t defend himself, or act too different to what he had been like at this age in his first life.

For example, people would ask too many questions if he showed just _how far_ _ahead_ of his peers he was, or if he acted on the hate filling his veins everytime the Dursleys insulted him.

He knew the kind of lengths Dumbledore would go if he thought his ‘puppet’ was too much like a certain Dark Lord - he didn’t want history to repeat itself, after all. At first the Headmaster had wanted Tom to be a puppet like Harry, a beacon of the Light against Grindelwald.

Once he realised Tom was too independent and had too strong of a will, he became the adversary he needed to get the public back on his side once things started to die down after Grindleward’s defeat.

Yes, Harry had managed to find out all sorts of juicy little secrets throughout the course of his many lives, which he knew would only help him in the coming years.

Harry served the cursed bacon and stood back to watch the pigs wolf it down without a thought, so sure that they had Harry under their thumb. He tried not to let his glee show when Vernon took a second helping.

“Here,” Petunia snapped, thrusting a small plate of eggs and toast in his direction. Harry couldn’t help but stare at it for a moment, bewildered. There was an impatient sound and Harry was quick to snatch up the first real-ish meal he’d had in months.

He smiled at the warm full feeling in his stomach when he was done, creeping the rest of his ‘family’ out. As far as they knew, Harry was incapable of any positive emotions that didn’t come at the expense of another.

It wasn’t long before he was sent off to do his chores, the last on the list being his favourite no matter how much he disliked the circumstances around it.

Harry had always had a green thumb, something that he hadn’t really gotten to explore the first time around. But in his other lives Harry had made sure to do exactly that and now he had knowledge that far surpassed anything they could teach at Hogwarts.

Harry wiped the sweat off his brow as the sun continued to beat down on his thinly protected back, Dudley’s cast-offs weren’t in the best shape when they were given to him. Harry was convinced that Vernon made sure to stomp on them and wear them out as much as he could without making them completely useless before he gave them over.

He couldn’t imagine Dudley being so active that they would naturally get that way.

Harry sat back and looked around to make sure he was really alone. He was in the backyard so he was fairly certain no one could see exactly what he was doing so he felt confident about taking the letter from his pants.

The ink on the outside had smudged because of his sweat, but that was okay. The parchment was thick enough that the inside wouldn’t be affected. He already knew its contents by heart but he still always checked, just in case anything changed.

Death wouldn’t tell him whether they were really just rewinding time or if they were taking Harry to another timeline altogether, so Harry checked almost obsessively for any sort of change he didn’t make himself.

If it were alternate realities that would make this whole thing a little less boring, right? He also secretly hoped they would just run out of realities so he could finally move on. But he knew better than that, unfortunately.

As Harry watched the owl take off with his reply, he sighed and wondered which house he should go for. Gryffindor was immediately out - he wouldn’t be able to tolerate the people there for a whole _seven years,_ not again.

Though it would make people automatically trust him more, giving him more leeway to do what he needed to. It was sad that people were so blinded by the labels society gave them, but also something that Harry didn’t necessarily hate considering it made manipulating them easier.

It was for those exact reasons he also couldn’t do Slytherin, it would make things a lot harder on him because everyone would be constantly watching his every move with suspicion.

He would be underestimated in Hufflepuff - which he _could_ work into his favour, but it also meant he wouldn’t be taken seriously. Which was something that he didn’t really want to deal with, he knew from experience that it was an uphill battle that would throw a stupid but unavoidable wrench into his plans. He did not need that, succeeding was going to be hard enough without everyone thinking he was soft and useless.

Ravenclaw on the other hand would provide him with enough notoriety so as not to be damaging, but he could just as easily sway the people into his favour. Ravenclaw was considered a neutral party when it came to the whole Gryffindor VS Slytherin debacle - which somehow equated to Light and Dark because of Dumbledore’s influence.

It was the best option, though not without their own stigmas. Being expected to do well in class though, was something he could easily handle. It was the attention he would get for ‘showing off’ that would suck. Harry groaned, everything was a double-edged sword.

It wasn’t Hagrid that came to collect him on his birthday, but Severus Snape. Which he had somewhat expected as the whole ‘escaping to a rainy rock island’ hadn’t happened. He suspected Dumbledore sent Snape specifically because he knew of the history between him and Petunia.

A punishment of sorts perhaps? Harry mused as he waited patiently to be let out of his cupboard. It was funny when Snape’s face became pale and his lips tightened in anger when Harry meekly scurried out of his cupboard to hide behind the door jam of the living room.

That was a misstep on the Headmaster’s end, he had to know how his loyal spy would react if he saw how the Dursleys treated him, Potter hellspawn or not.

“What the hell have you done, Tuney?” Snape bit out, wand sliding into his hand as he stared from Harry’s carefully constructed ‘frightened’ mask to Petunia’s quickly reddening face.

“I did what any good Christian would d--” And just like that, Snape was rummaging around in her mind. By the growl Harry heard, he’d found the right memories. He had to physically hold himself back from cackling, he was so gleeful for how things were going so well already.

He really had to thank that old fool for sending the one person at Hogwarts that would react as strongly to child abuse as he needed them to. He didn’t think McGonagall would gloss over it, with her strict moral compass but it wasn’t the first time Dumbledore had managed to talk his way out of trouble.

His masks were thankfully smoothed back out by the time Snape ripped himself from his Aunt’s mind, not even bothering to be gentle. This left her sobbing on the ground clutching her head like it was going to explode.

Harry couldn’t stop the flash of righteous glee in his eyes as he watched his Aunt writhe on the blue carpet she’d made him clean for the last four or five years. Whether Snape caught it or not, Harry wasn’t sure as the man made no comment.

“Harry, I am Professor Snape from Hogwarts and I am here to take you shopping for your school supplies.” The man said gently with what was probably supposed to be a kind smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. Harry made sure to play his part, nodding with the obligatory:

“Yes, Sir.” before letting go of his impromptu shield and cautiously stepping around his Aunt like he expected her to lash out at him. Snape’s lips quirked when Harry released a relieved sigh once they were out of the house and on the road.

Harry idly wondered how much tweaking the old goat had to do to let Snape past the wards, and if every Death Eater now had access to the Dursleys.

He couldn't bring himself to honestly care if they could, Harry was almost as powerful as Death themselves by now. He wasn't worried about being able to defend himself, even if it would ruin his plans to show that much of his true self.

At the moment he was holding back like 90% of his power so Snape wouldn't get suspicious, yet it was still leagues above a normal eleven year old.

“I am now going to do what is call Aparation, which is basically teleportation. This is how we are getting into the magical world.” Snape explained patiently, holding out his arm.

Harry stared at the offered appendage like it was going to bite him, making the man frown before his features returned to the calm and open state Snape had been trying to use to get Harry to relax.

Harry could tell it was a foreign thing to him, being _nice_ to someone - especially a supposedly frightened and abused child.

“You need to hold onto me so that we can get to the Wizarding World…” Upon seeing the child only tense further, Snape switched tracks.

“Or we could catch the Knight Bus - a Bus you can call at any time at any place by just pointing your finger up in the air and saying ‘Knight Bus’. They will take you anywhere you want to go - for a price.” Snape offered, watching as Harry ducked his head to look at his shoes.

“Bu-but I haven’t any money, Sir. I-I can’t catch this ‘Knight Bus’ or - or buy the things on my school list…I...” Harry made sure to sound on the verge of tears, rubbing an arm across his eyes in frustration, as if he were embarrassed to be showing such weakness in front of a stranger, an _adult_.

God, he should have an Emmy by now. He figured playing it up a bit was necessary to get Snape on his side enough to go against Dumbledore in the future.

He knew about the Oath, but he needed the man to see that he would be breaking it by leaving the Headmaster in charge of Harry’s welfare.

A surprisingly warm hand settled hesitantly on his too small shoulder and Harry leaned into it like the touch-starved eleven year old he should be.

“That’s okay, Harry. Your parents were very wealthy people and they no doubt left it all to you as you were their only child.” Harry perked up at that, looking up at Snape with hope in his eyes.

“Y-you knew my parents?” He asked excitedly, latching onto the man’s arm like he was afraid he would disappear if he asked too many questions. Snape stiffened under the contact, but answered truthfully.

“Yes, I grew up with your mother. She… she was my best friend.” He made a pained noise in the back of his throat and Harry jumped away with a worried and scared expression, making Snape think it was because the boy thought he’d hurt him.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I-I shouldn’t have brought it up--” Harry was frantically shaking his head, dark hair flopping from side to side. The professor had a pinched expression on his face before it smoothed out into something softer.

“No, Harry, that’s quite alright. You ask as many questions as you like, you have that right.” Harry secretly marvelled at the complete 180 Snape’s attitude towards him had done, and the fact that he knew all the right things to say to a heavily abused child.

Harry knew the man’s past, but this spoke of more than just first-hand experience. This was more like he’d done this before, many times in fact.

It was then he remembered that most Slytherins had Death Eaters as parents, it wasn’t right, but Harry could understand what stress can do to a person. And working for an insane Dark Lord had to be one hell of a stressor, unfortunately it was the kids that got the brunt of it because they couldn’t defend themselves.

With tears in his eyes, Harry smiled up at his ‘saviour’ and saw the exact moment Snape broke.

“Thank you, Sir.”

 

* * *

It was sometime later that Severus Snape stormed into the Headmaster’s office to demand answers. Oh, he was _livid_ at what Dumbledore had done to that poor boy.

He was somewhat glad Harry wasn’t anything like his father - but at the same time he was saddened by the reason _why_ he hadn’t grown up to be a spoilt arrogant brat. Then he would think further into just _why_ an innocent child had grown up with magic-hating muggles and he would get angry all over again.

Severus had managed to keep it under wraps when he was with Harry - he didn’t want to scare the poor child into thinking his ire was in any way his fault, (he knew how an abused child’s mind worked, after all) but it had been so hard with how _happy_ Harry was to see the Wizarding World, how he cried in relief when he saw his trust vault.

The poor child had tried to offer him some for taking him shopping for crying out loud! Finding out how sweet the boy was only made him angrier at the one that had left him literally _on the doorstep_ of the worst muggles Severus had ever met.

“Severus, my boy. Please, calm down, sit, have a sherbert lemon.” The man in question offered/ _ordered_ and Severus ran a hand through his dark hair in frustration.

“How can I be calm when there is a child out there in need of my help - one that I _swore_ to protect! One that I--” Severus paced about the room some more, not caring if he was acting out of character.

"I shouldn't have taken your word about his living arrangements!" He turned his ire directly on the Headmaster, levelling him with one of his famous glares that were said to put the fear of Merlin in all his students.

Of course, Albus wasn’t one of his students and the only effect it had was making the man look more concerned. But he couldn't let that derail him now, he was too worked up.

“Why didn’t you check up on him in all these years? You’re his magical guardian, do you even know what that _means_? You were supposed to take care of him, Albus!” Dumbledore seemed to age right in front of him as he leaned forward to massage the bridge of his nose under his moon-shaped glasses.

“I’m deeply sorry, my boy, I had no idea. I had Arabella looking out for the boy and since she didn’t report anything out of the ordinary I just assumed…” He trailed off forlornly, guilt clear on his wrinkled face.

Severus wasn’t buying any of it though, he knew better. He’d been with the man for many years now - even if you didn’t include his own Hogwarts days - so you could say he had seen through the Headmaster’s different masks.

He just hadn’t known what was behind them, not until today. Anyone that was willing to put a child in harms way was far more messed up than Severus could ever imagine - and he was certain Dumbledore knew _exactly_ what he was doing when he left Harry with those muggles. Dumbledore fixed his glasses back onto his nose and tried to salvage the situation.

“I know what you saw, my boy, but is it truly that bad? I know that Petunia may not like-” But he was swiftly cut off, Severus _this_ close to really taking his anger out on the man. But he didn’t, he couldn’t.

There would be no turning back after that, he hated to admit it but the man in front of him was the only thing standing between him and a one-way ticket to Azkaban. He had to do _something_ though.

“Yes, Albus. It is. You need to remove that boy from those muggles as soon as possible.” The ‘or I will’ was left unsaid but still hung in the air between them like the empty threat it was.

Severus had no power, not against someone like Dumbledore. He knew it, Dumbledore knew it, and so it was with steel in his eyes that Albus stared at Severus, daring him to go further, to toe the line just a little more and see what would happen.

Like the coward that he was, Severus reluctantly backed down. He still had enough pride to hold his head up high as he made his way out of the office.

But that was it, once he was in the privacy of his quarters he made a beeline for the whiskey cabinet. He tried to console himself with the thought that at least he could help Harry while he was at school.

Severus barked out a harsh and humourless laugh, pouring himself another glass. It didn’t really matter if he couldn’t even protect him where it really counted, he was practically useless as soon as the boy left the grounds. And it _hurt_.

 

* * *

Harry was somewhat disappointed when he found that Hedwig wasn’t in the shop this time. He had been looking forward to seeing his old friend again - even if she didn’t remember him. 

She had always been his first (and only) real friend when he was a kid and it was a legitimate letdown when he couldn’t find her. It was fun throwing Snape for a loop though, when he had begun discussing the benefits of the different types of rats and how they tasted with the boa in the furthest corner of the shop.

Sadly, it wouldn’t help his image any if he showed up to school with a snake. So he had reluctantly said goodbye to the nice boa and left without a pet for probably the first time in years.

He was probably the only one in his year that didn’t have at least an owl, but he couldn’t bring himself to get one when it wasn’t hedwig. It felt like some sort of betrayal to his friend.

After he left with Snape that day, Harry had come back shortly before he was due to get on the train, but he still couldn’t find her. He was somewhat afraid that someone else had gotten to her first and he might never get the chance to see her again.

Harry was shaken from his melancholy thoughts when the train started moving and he refocused on his new book. He’d gotten it while Snape’s back was turned as he didn’t think the man would approve of an eleven year old reading such an advanced book on poisons and the Dark curses that went with them.

Especially if Harry was supposedly only just starting his magical education.

But eventually, as fate seemed to hate him, Harry was interrupted by none other than Hermione Granger knocking at his door, since he’d locked it she couldn’t just barge in like she had previously because he’d wanted to be left alone.

But as the minutes past, Harry sighed when it looked like she was just going to get louder and unlocked the bloody compartment with a lazy wave of his hand. He wasn't surprised to see Neville lurking in the background behind the bushy-haired menace.

He made sure to cast a charm over his book to make it look like their potions textbook before the door fully opened. He didn’t want her natural nosyness to ask questions that could lead to her telling a teacher about the book.

The girl stood there for a moment, mouth hanging open as she either couldn’t believe someone other than her was reading ahead or that she recognised who he was. He couldn’t tell, to be honest… well, until she opened her mouth.

“Y-you’re Harry Potter!” She exclaimed rather loudly, making Harry roll his eyes instead of hexing her vocal chords permanently silent like he wanted to. He could do it, he _wanted_ to do it, because it was clear he’d forgotten just how _annoying_ her voice could be.

But he didn’t, he had a part to play here and he couldn’t afford to screw up all his hard work resisting the urge to just kill the Dursleys because of one annoying little girl who didn’t know her arse from her wand at this point. It didn’t make him want to do it any less though.

“Yes, I am. Could you please be a little quieter, I don’t want any trouble.” He said politely, internally seething when she made herself at home on the bench across from Harry. Like any well-trained Pureblood, Neville stayed behind the threshold because he had _manners_.

“I’ve read all about you--” Harry cut her off with a raised hand, gripping his book hard enough that his fingers were turning white from the pressure. It took him a moment to modulate his voice so he wasn't growling at her.

“Please, do not assume that you know something because it is written in a book. I had never met anyone magical until yesterday, and I have certainly never given my story out for the public to make a profit off of. Whatever is in those books you read has nothing to do with me.”

That reminded him, he would need to go see Mr. Dodge about that and several other things he could think of. Harry rushed on when it looked like Hermione was going to protest, his patience hanging by a thread.

“And it is also incredibly rude to barge into another’s compartment and start a conversation without introducing yourself and _asking permission to enter_.” He chastised, grateful when she actually looked like she regretted being so rude. But it was ruined when Neville spoke.

“Um...Hermione? I still need to find Trevor, so I’m going to--”

“Oh! That’s right! Have you seen a toad named Trevor?” She asked, Harry’s subtle cue for her to politely _fuck off_ going completely over her head. Harry grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

“ _No._ ” His tone struck something in Neville as the boy actually _bowed_ and muttered an apology before leaving to look for his toad elsewhere. Hermione, on the other hand, became indignant and puffed up like a particularly annoying _Tetraodontidae_.

Harry actually found that description both amusing and quite fitting as she might have some venom, but she was mostly all hot air.

He didn’t really want to sit through a lecture (he’d done enough of that in his first life) so he flicked his wrist and magically removed her from the compartment. Another flick and the door was shut and locked, this time with a privacy ward around it. Even through the silencing barrier he could hear her shriek.

“Oh, how RUDE!” Like _he_ was the one being rude in the first place!

Harry pulled in a few deep breaths to calm himself, _‘she’s just a child, she’s still just a child’_ he reminded himself as many times as he needed before he was able to open his eyes without seeing red. He didn’t know why it affected him so much - no, that was a lie.

Hermione affected him so much because a) she wasn’t the same strong woman he remembered and b) The fact that she and Ron turned out to be backstabbing traitors only in it for the money and fame, still stung.

He was still angry at them and he probably always will be because he can’t take it out on them specifically - they were gone. So their alternate child selves got the brunt, god he was no better than those Death Eater parents.

He knew how Snape must have felt now, being confronted with the constant reminder that the woman he loved was gone. All because she had run off with the wrong guy, the guy that had _tormented_ him in school.

Now that he had the wonderful and terrible gift of wisdom and hindsight, Harry couldn’t blame Snape for treating Harry the way he had in his original life.

Harry was halfway through his book when night approached and the train finally started to slow. He (thankfully) hadn’t been bothered after the incident with Granger, though he wondered now just what she had said to make the others give him a wide berth as they followed Hagrid to the boats.

Though he didn’t have to wait long as a couple of girls chatting in the boat behind him unknowingly told him everything he needed to know.

“--I hear he threw her out of his compartment with just his hand! No wand at all! No spell neither!” The girl next to the first one gasped and offered a rumour of her own.

“They say he might be the next Dark Lord! If he's that powerful now, I shudder to think what the future will be like!” She hissed, like she expected Voldemort to rise up from the water and smite her for saying such a thing. Harry snorted, gaining the attention of Draco, who was sitting next to him.

“Well?” He asked, silver eyes pinning Harry with poorly concealed excitement and curiosity. Harry was deliberately obtuse in his answer, just because he wanted the Malfoy heir to come right out and say the words.

“Well, what?” He asked with mirth in his eyes and innocence on his tongue.

The blond rolled his eyes as Neville shifted uncomfortably across from them, looking like he wanted to know too but was too scared to ask. These two were the only ones willing to sit in the same boat as Harry, well he knew why now.

Harry rolled his eyes at how easily people’s opinions were swayed.

“I didn’t even do anything, I just wanted that annoying idiot out of my compartment. She was _so_ not getting the hints I was dropping so…” Harry shrugged before giving them a pointed look.

“Do you honestly think that everyone who displays strong magical ability is ‘the next Dark Lord’, are you really that swayed by what other people say?” He huffed at their incredulous looks and was grateful when Hagrid announced that they could see the castle now.

“Hey, look! A castle!” Harry said with obviously fake enthusiasm and even a hand wave, hoping to draw their attention away from him for a bit. It worked, they _were_ children experiencing this for the first time after all, and while it was nice for Harry to see the ol’ girl again, he had far more pressing matters.

Like how he’d fucked up with the Granger chit. His previously nonexistent reputation was now solidified as the asshole that attacked a student and may or may not be the next Dark Lord.

That was exactly the _opposite_ of what he wanted! He just hoped he could fix it before it reached Dumbledore. But how? Did he apologise? Harry made a face at that.

There was nothing to apologise for, plus it would only make Granger feel like she was superior to him. He snorted at that thought, like she could ever be on his level.

He had _lifetimes_ of knowledge and experience, a first year muggleborn couldn’t possibly hope to top that. Maybe he should try to work it into his favour? He could use the rumour mill to his advantage.

He just needed a reliable source… He studied Draco, making the boy fidget under the intense gaze.

“ _Draco_ ,” Harry purred, making both boys flush and he chuckled. Harry stuck out his hand in a parody of his original first year.

“Would you like to be _friends_?” And ‘friends’ by Slytherin standards was basically a social ally, a union that would benefit Draco as much as it did him.

The boy knew this, had been trained in social mind games since he was old enough to understand the concept, and so didn’t hesitate shaking Harry’s hand.

“Excellent.” Harry praised, amused when another blush dusted those pale cheeks. “Harry, c-can I also be your f-friend?” Neville asked, sticking out his own hand. Harry thought for a moment, whether Neville meant it the way he and Draco did, or if he meant it in the Hufflepuff way.

Harry grinned, thinking that either way Neville was one of the only tolerable Gryffindors and it would look good to Dumbledore if he made friends with the ‘proper’ sort.

“Sure!” Harry said brightly, taking Neville’s hand in a strong grip.

Draco’s brows scrunched, but thankfully had the decorum not to say anything. When McGonagall left them in the atrium, Harry sent his two ‘friends’ off to do his bidding under the pretense of ‘mingling’ and he watched in surprise as Neville managed the different circles far better than he had originally thought he would.

Maybe Neville was already more confident now that he had Harry as a friend?

It was a lot easier for them to ‘s _hed some light_ ’ on the incident with Granger as that was the only thing anyone was talking about. Harry did his part too, looking as non-threatening and normal as possible as he waited off to the side for their Transfiguration teacher to return.

It wouldn’t look very good, not to mention believable, if he was the one defending himself. So he was glad Neville was doing so well. For Draco it was second nature to manipulate those around him, just as it was for Harry so he didn’t have to worry on that front.

They made sure to stay away from the potential Slytherins as they weren’t the type to gossip in a way that would reach any of the teachers, specifically Dumbledore.

They also wouldn’t appreciate Harry’s attempt to fool them. The man probably wouldn’t believe them anyway, a sad truth, but truth nonetheless.

Harry just dearly hoped the hat would listen to him like it had last time. He needed Ravenclaw, otherwise all this was for naught. When he saw Weasley looking for him, Harry ducked behind an amused Goyle.

The bigger boy huffed, but didn't say anything and didn't move away either, instead actually angling his body towards the redhead to hide Harry better. Before Harry could thank him, McGonagall returned.

“Okay, First years! Eyes to me! They’re ready for you now.” She shouted over the chatter of the other children as his boys kept their distance from him as instructed, Draco standing by the other To-be-Slytherins while Neville stood alone, not actually having any other friends.

The doors opened and the firsties filed in, most craning their necks to get a look at the enchanted ceiling and floating candles.

Harry made sure to do the same, though with a lot more dignity. He needed to gain respect here, and fast. The faster he did, the more he could do with it. But for the teacher’s sake, for _Dumbledore_ and Snape, he had to act like a child would.

They lined up on the stone dias that held the teacher’s table as a familiar three-legged stool that looked like it could snap with a good breeze, was situated in front of them.

McGonagall brought out the hat that had seen better days and plopped it unceremoniously onto the stool. Harry frowned at that, barely stopping himself from outright scowling.

He found it incredibly rude and inconsiderate to treat such a powerful and old magical artifact like it was worn-out trash.

It was made by _Rowena Ravenclaw_ for Merlin’s sake! And it was a sentient being, dropping it like that might have hurt! But before Harry could continue to quietly fume about all the injustice in this rotten world, McGonagall was speaking.

“First years! I will now call your names in alphabetical order, when I get to your name, please sit on the stool and put the hat on your head. It will sort you into the House you most resemble. When that happens please return the hat to the stool and go sit with your new Housemates. They will be something like your family here at Hogwarts, so make sure to get along with them!” She finished sternly, promptly unrolling a scroll. She wasted no time in calling the first name.

“Abbott, Hannah!”

And so on it went, Harry only took note of a few people to see if something different would happen. He had to say he was both disappointed and grateful when Hermione went into Gryffindor.

Disappointed because it was the same as the first time he’d gone through this, but grateful that he wouldn’t have to suffer her presence in Ravenclaw. If he got Ravenclaw anyway.

Draco was predictable, as was Neville. Harry found his eyes drawn to the teacher’s table, first to Dumbledore and then Snape to finally land on Quirrelmort. By the reddish tint to the man’s eyes, Harry could assume it was the Dark Lord watching him intently and not his professor.

When no one was looking, Harry’s lips quirked into a knowing smile and he winked. It was as much of an invitation as it was a warning. By the narrowing of red eyes, Harry would say his message was received.

“Potter, Harry!” A hush fell over the room when Harry separated from the group and walked up to the stool with a confidence that came from being older than even Dumbledore. When the hat was placed on his head and darkness fell over his eyes, a familiar timbre echoed in his thoughts.

‘ _Greetings, Favoured One. I see you have done this before.’_ Harry snorted quietly, that was an understatement. Though he wondered about the 'favoured one' bit, did it have something to do with the Hallows?

Speaking of which, he could feel the familiar warm hum of the Elder Wand as soon as he entered the Great Hall. He wondered if he should wait for the old goat to give him the cloak or if he should go and get it himself.

He thought of the look on his face when the Goblins came to take it and anything else the bastard had stolen from his vaults.

 _‘So, where would you like to go?’_ The hat asked, making Harry take a sharp breath in surprise as he was brought out of his thoughts.

‘ _You mean I actually get to choose - just like that? You’re not going to argue?_ ’ He asked, bewildered. It was a little odd for it _not_ to put in a token protest - or at least some advice. The hat chuckled, sifting through more memories before coming to a conclusion.

‘ _Well, from your mind I can already tell where you belong. But that doesn’t mean that is where you_ should _go._ ’ The hat replied and was about to announce Ravenclaw when it suddenly seized on Harry’s head before falling off. It writhed and whimpered like it was being held under the Cruciatus Curse.

“SLYTHERIN! SLYTHERIN!” It screeched before going silent.

Harry whipped his head around to the teacher’s table - because no student could have overridden the protection runes on something as powerful as that hat. He met amused ruby eyes and barely held back a snarl. That IDIOT!

‘ _You’ve just severely fucked us BOTH up!_ ’ Harry growled through the Horcrux link, watching in satisfaction as Voldemort blanched before he retreated into his host’s mind.

The red quickly faded to muddy brown, Quirrell looking around as if just waking up from an unexpected nap. He turned back around to find the rest of the hall looking at him.

“Well, Mr. Potter?” McGonagall was the first to recover, gesturing he get off the stool and go to his new House. She was a lot colder than he remembered her being in his last life, when he was Sorted into Gryffindor.

It hurt slightly, because for all her faults, he'd still liked her. But clearly she wasn't as fair and just as he'd thought. She was just as much affected by prejudice as the rest of them.

He pushed out a sigh before quietly joining Draco at the Snake’s table. Even the Slytherins were giving him a wide berth now.

“Fuck.” he cursed under his breath as the Hall was filled with whispers, most of them harsh. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all!

“ _Fuck_.”


End file.
